Apt Cat

This piece is untitled because it has not yet revealed its name to me. Perhaps it never will. As I wrote the previous sentence, out the window I happened to see a black cat sneak through some bushes. That was not the cat from the painting! It is strange how subtle things like that occur -- it feels as though the painting was meant to be in the world. 

It is a painting about struggle. When we are children we sometimes see the world through innocent eyes, unaware of the way things really are. As we grow older we begin to realize the battles life throws at us and what we must do to overcome them. 

The landscape portion of the artwork is from a Los Angeles neighborhood a few blocks away from me . . . 44" x 40", oil paint, acrylic primer, painted wood, stuffed doll, canvas, 2015. 

The Penguin

This penguin, on the tip of an iceberg, is a sculpture that hangs on the wall. I deliberately created it with uneven, imperfect surfaces because I find imperfections intriguing, like the decay of an old building. Another example would be the difference between CGI animation and stop motion animation (e.g., claymation) -- something about the hand-made puppets and broken movements in stop motion animation move me more. Maybe it is because everything in contemporary society seems to be flawlessly computer generated. Imperfections are more human. 

24" x 18" x 9", acrylic paint, epoxy resin, canvas, paper, foam, salt, steel wire and aluminum armature, wood, 2014.

Manufacturing Consent

Artists are always using what is around them, such as images, information, readymades, and materials. In this piece, I've appropriated a page from Cormac McCarthy's The Road, resized it, and combined it with other materials. People who have watched the popular television series Breaking Bad may recognize the painting on the aluminum plate. The title references work by Noam Chomsky.   

40" x 48", oil paint, aluminum plate, brass chain, copper tubing, brass fittings, dolls, canvas, paper, epoxy resin, acrylic primer, wood, 2014. 

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